He wasn’t the only one.
“As observers, we are only allowed to watch and record how each participant does. We’re not allowed to interfere in the test, not even to stop one such as Reaver from cheating. I would gladly have fought him myself if it was permitted.”
“What’s your rank and name?”
“Journeyman Frostburn.”
Frostburn. Already she wanted to call him Frostbite. She was going to mess his name up more than a few times.
“Thank you, Frostburn, for the gift of your name and your honesty.”
After all, the observers weren’t required to talk either.
“Anna Mackenzie, Reaver thinks to make you confront him at one of the other archery obstacles. You don’t have to if you know how to make arrows. He left the bow behind.”
She stared at him in silence.
He gestured wide. “The forest can provide the raw material you need.”
While that might be true and if she needed to hunt up some dinner she might try her hand at making arrows, but she wasn’t stopping long enough to make some field arrows and give Reaver this win.
“Obsidian?”
“Now you want to talk?”
“You following what’s afoot?”
“Yes. Thayn said I can do what I want if Reaver messes with you again.”
“Not what the elder had in mind.”
“He’s still mine to challenge.”
“Won’t be needed after I beat his ass in this test. Can Journeyman Frostburn be trusted with a little show of shadow magic?”
“Yes, he’s honorable, and once an elder speaks with him, he’ll keep his lips sealed. What are you planning?”
“This.” Anna walked to the post and picked up the bow. Then she walked until her toes were almost brushing the glowing line of power burned into the ground.
While Frostburn looked on in confusion that turned to astonishment as she drew the bow, she summoned shadow magic and formed it into three perfectly elegant arrows. Then in one smooth motion, she nocked the arrows and let them fly.
Each flew true and buried itself in its intended target. While the gleaming ebony staffs continued to vibrate softly, she propped the bow against the post.
She then turned back to Frostburn and smiled at his stunned expression. “Don’t share what you saw here today. A mentor is sure to come to speak with you.”
Frostburn surprised her by dropping into a deep bow.
“As the Kyrsu commands.” His voice softened a bit. “Well played, Anna Mackenzie. May you win fairly.”
“I plan to.” Anna nodded goodbye to the gargoyle and darted off. The archery target was the last required obstacle.
“You did very well,” Obsidian sent over the link. “Reaver is farther from the end than you. If you hurry, you’ll be able to reach the finish first.”
“Good, I can’t wait to see his face when he exits to see me already outside.”
“Now who’s enjoying this?”
“Never said I wasn’t,” she countered.
“Hurry back to me. We can watch his expression together.”
Anna nodded even though he wouldn’t see it, and then sprinted back to the beginning of the course.
As promised, Obsidian was already there with no Reaver in sight.
Beside him, Thayn stood with a horn clasped in his hands. He blew on it then, alerting everyone still in the depths of the field course that there was a winner.
A few minutes later, gargoyles started to emerge. Eventually, Reaver arrived. He spotted her and growled.
“How did you manage to complete all the obstacles?”
“Very carefully. I even had to stop and make three arrows for the final one.”
His nostrils flared. “You completed all the tasks?”
“Yes.”
He jerked like she’d slapped him. “That’s not possible. I’m far from the slowest gargoyle, and there is no way a human could complete that course faster than a gargoyle.”
“I’m just fast by any standard.”
His expression was comical. His face was scowling, but his ears were in a forward questioning pose. Poor boy was trying to solve a puzzle when he didn’t have all the pieces.
“You cheated. Not knowingly. I’d sense that, but you must have unknowingly missed some of the obstacles. Once all the observers are here, I will question them and see which one you missed.”
“Go ahead. It won’t change the outcome.” Anna shrugged and then turned to Obsidian. “Let’s go find some training knives for the next test. I might as well get some practice in while Reaver satisfies his suspicions.”
Grunting agreement, Obsidian swung an arm around her shoulder and guided her past a fuming Reaver.
Once they were away from the others, she relaxed. Only then discovering how nervous she’d been. It wasn’t the training; it was keeping her true nature a secret.
“What I am is going to come out, and that will make it look like we both were trying to hide what the Battle Goddess did to me. Reaver is suspicious, but he isn’t actually stupid. Just a jackass.”
Obsidian shrugged. “You’re worrying too much over something that simply is. Yes, your nature will be revealed one day. Perhaps before the elders intended that to happen. But the residents of Haven already know we were changed by our time in the Battle Goddess’s kingdom.”
“Yeah but...”
“They will adjust. No doubt some will initially respond like Reaver, but they will come around once they realize what the Battle Goddess did to you did not reach your heart, mind, or soul.”
Their talk had carried them to one of the training rings, and a sand-covered field greeted her sight.
“Fine, but better let me get some practice in before Reaver gets here. His mood isn’t going to improve once he questions the observers and realizes I did complete all the required tasks.”
Chapter 28
After selecting from a bunch of weapons already laid out, Anna tested the eight small throwing knives and the two long daggers. They were well-made; their balance good in her hand.
Obsidian snorted. “These are training quality, nothing more. Once you are assigned mentors, they’ll commission a set of weapons and armor made for you. Ones superior to these.”
“These will do for now.”
By the time Reaver appeared, Anna was landing knives consistently in the targets.
She went to retrieve her blades. When she returned, Banrook was already standing and glowering at Reaver and Obsidian.
“There will be no more questioning Anna’s loyalties. She is Kyrsu to Obsidian and chosen by Lord Draydrak to be co-leader for the legion. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with Lord Death.”
Reaver bowed his head and muttered an apology, but when Anna joined them, he glowered at her instead.
There was still bad blood there for sure.
Obsidian was suddenly there in her mind, his anger rising again.
“Hey. I’ve got this.” Though, she was really getting tired of Reaver’s lousy attitude. It was time to put him in his place.
“And I’ll put new holes in his hide if he tries anything other than what he’s supposed to do.”
“You know how to give a girl the warm fuzzies.”
Obsidian growled. “Go kick his ass, he deserves it even more after what he did at the archery obstacle.”
∞∞∞
Reaver grew impatient at what he perceived as a fearful hesitation and came at her. Anna held still until the last moment, then she sidestepped faster than he could react. Dipping low to avoid his wing, she allowed his momentum to carry him past her, then she flicked her wrist, her dagger opening a red line on his thigh.
“First blood,” she called while he swung around to face her.
He’d braced one hand to his wound, but paid it no notice, studying her instead. His look was one of speculation, not the arrogance or anger she’d expected. After a moment, he released his hold on his leg and drew a second da
gger.
Then he was upon her again, calmer this time. Determined.
She danced with him, studying him in turn, waiting for an opening. When she saw it, she darted in close to land a strike, but he blocked her.
“Humans of the Mortal Realm would not have a chance against a legion-trained gargoyle. You, Anna Mackenzie, are not human. You smell of gargoyle and unwholesome magic.”
Anna swore in her head. Of course, close combat had forced him inside the shield she’d been using to filter out her betraying gargoyle scent.
“Enough,” Obsidian bellowed to be heard over the crowd. “The match was to first blood. Anna landed the first blow. The bout is finished. Reaver, concede!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Master Banrook rise from the bench where he was sitting. “Enough. As pretty as her style is to witness, Obsidian is correct. We’ve seen enough to gauge her ability. Thank you for your assistance Reaver. You are no longer needed.”
Her opponent hissed his displeasure, but obliged, bowing to the master.
Then he straightened and turned to leave without a backward glance at her.
Well, that was a more pleasant end than she’d expected. When Anna turned to bow for Master Banrook and the other mentors, her gargoyle nature warned of danger.
Instinctively, she summoned shadow magic. It raced to answer her call, forming a shield in the air mere seconds before Reaver spun, plucking a throwing knife from each wrist brace and sent them flying towards her.
More shadow magic darted up from the ground. Reaver’s throwing knives struck the barrier and then bounced off to land in the sand. Her gargoyle nature missed nothing, not the subtle shift of his muscles, not the slight cloud of dust raised by their fight and not the menacing growl from Obsidian.
“See?” Reaver roared. “She is no human. She even smells like some bastardized crossbreed between a gargoyle and a human.”
From somewhere behind her, Obsidian snarled again. Using the link, she determined Obsidian was being held back—barely—by Banrook, Verroc, and Thayn.
With her partner safely out of the way, Anna addressed Reaver. “You must like getting the shit kicked out of you. Eventually, my Rasoren will escape. When he does, I’m going to be very, very tempted to just sit back and watch him shred your magic. When he’s done, even the healers won’t be able to fix you.”
The gathering had fallen eerily silent.
After thirty seconds, the silence was broken by snorting laughter.
Anna glanced swiftly to where the three masters were holding Obsidian.
Thayn had released his hold and was watching Anna with amusement.
“Dray was correct. You’re a fierce one. A little bloodthirsty, but I like what I see so far.” The eldest of the gargoyles marched up to her but turned his gaze upon Reaver, his humor vanishing. “You, on the other hand, are a very misguided cub. And if you persist, I will make you my own personal apprentice. You will not enjoy the experience.”
The big male’s entire body flinched, and his wings gave an involuntary shudder. The eldest of the gargoyles must be one scary dude to garner such a response. She made a note not to get on his shit list.
Reaver recovered his composure somewhat, and by the way he was staring at her, he wasn’t ready to give up. “But she doesn’t even deny my words!”
Banrook stormed up to them, glowering at Reaver. “You have acted rashly. Shaming your other mentors. Again! Continue like this and you’ll never achieve your full potential. As it is now, you’ll be lucky to make island guard!”
“But she is hiding what she is! Her deceit is a threat to everyone.”
“Enough out of you. You will listen.” Thayn slapped the journeyman across the muzzle and then turned to address the rest of the gathering. “Anna has only followed the Council’s orders. After seeing how many distrusted Shadowlight when he first arrived—and he only an innocent child—we thought it best to allow Anna time to adjust to our ways and prove herself before her true nature was revealed.”
“I can assure everyone, that while Anna and Shadowlight spent time in the Battle Goddess’s kingdom, it wasn’t willingly, and they managed to resist her dark power. These two young souls are not our enemy’s work, they are the work of the Divine Ones.”
Murmurs of surprise sounded throughout the gathering. Thayn just raised his voice above them. “The Avatars have made a choice—their allegiance is now divided. To compensate for that complication, the Divine Ones have chosen two new souls to take up their cause.”
“I...” Reaver trailed off, sounding uncertain.
“Do you still doubt the wisdom of the Divine Ones, Lord Dray’s choice, and the Council’s plans?”
“No, Master Thayn.” Reaver bowed his head in defeat.
“Good. Now go wait in Rook’s workroom. I’m sure he’ll think up something suitable to cure you of your rashness.” The oldest gargoyle dismissed the journeyman.
Reaver bowed and departed. Only after he was gone did Anna release her hold on the shadow magic shield.
Banrook signaled for Obsidian to come forward. He did and preceded to sniff her over for injuries. When he found none, he sat on his haunches and waited.
Thayn patted first Obsidian’s shoulder and then Anna’s. “I’m sorry that your secret was revealed in such a spectacular fashion, and while it’s not what the council may have wished, now you don’t have to work so hard to hide what you are.”
“There is that,” she agreed.
“We’ll discuss your skills and determine which mentors to assign you, but from what we’ve all seen, I believe we’ll start you with Obsidian’s mentors first. But I’ll leave that to Rook to oversee.”
Anna’s gaze darted toward Banrook, but he was too busy working on crowd control. “What are you all waiting for? Off with you! Go.”
The crowd departed, slowly. And then only because Rook’s words weren’t a suggestion.
“I must admit I’m curious to witness your gargoyle form.” Thayn was eyeing her up and down as if trying to imagine her with wings and horns. “Obsidian said you were spectacular in the air as well as being a fierce protector and warrior—a berserker even.”
“Don’t know what he’s been claiming, but that side doesn’t come out very often.”
Thayn rubbed his jaw in thought. “We will have to see if we can lure that part of you out for the healers to study. While berserkers are extraordinary on the battlefield, they aren’t quite so beneficial in everyday life. We’ll test out a few training methods to see if we can find a way to harness all the destructive energy into something positive.”
Thayn soon dismissed them but Master Maradryn arrived before they could make their escape. “Maybe now I’ll have that chance to study your gargoyle form.”
Anna bowed to acknowledge the older healer, but she wasn’t enthusiastic at the idea.
“Of, course.” So much fun. Can’t wait.
“Not what I’d call fun,” Obsidian replied as he bumped his muzzle against her shoulder.
“Do you need another application of the cream?”
“No!” He jerked back and eyed her suspiciously. “Come on, you’re getting grumpy, which means you’re hungry.”
Anna just muttered under her breath as she let him lead her in the direction of food.
Chapter 29
Food wasn’t the only thing they found when they arrived at the community fires. Anna’s ability to call shadow magic caused much excitement and many questions. Seeing all the eagerness, Anna seized on the opportunity and suggested she shift to show the depth of her abilities. He’d agreed. Better they were honest and forthright about it now. Of course, as soon as she shifted to her gargoyle form, crowds of onlookers gathered and it took the rest of the evening meal and well into the night to satisfy the worst of the curiosity.
But for better or worse it was done. He no longer had to lie to his friends or fellow students.
At last, after far too many questions, the crowds diminished allowin
g he and his Kyrsu to seek their rest.
They were halfway back to his dwelling when Anna suddenly halted and looked over her shoulder at him.
“I’m dead on my feet, but I want a bath—a real bath—before bed. Where are these public baths you mentioned yesterday?”
“Not far if we travel on the wing.” While he had been tired, the thought of flying with Anna gave him a renewed surge of energy.
“Let’s go then. But have mercy. I’ll be rusty. Don’t want to go smacking into trees.”
With a huffing laugh, he squeezed by Anna, then dropped to all fours and continued down the bridge at a jog. She followed so close behind, she playfully nipped at his swaying tail. It became a game of sorts. Him trying to anticipate when her next attack was going to come; her trying to land little nips without getting smacked in the muzzle.
When he reached the end of the bridge, he leaped up into the air, his wings opening wide to capture the wind. Three heartbeats later, Anna was flying beside him. Warmth and joy flowed along their link. She’d missed this too.
When the trees ahead grew too thick and forced them into single file, Anna curled the tip of one wing and glided until she was just ahead and slightly lower. He’d forgotten how graceful she was in the air.
Their wings moving as one, they sailed through the moonlit forest, silent as owls. From this vantage point, he studied the flow of her long mane. Her shift from human to gargoyle had freed her hair from the braids.
She’d likely grump about it later, but he didn’t mind putting them back in. He looked forward to anything that brought them close and allowed him to touch her.
Gargoyles were naturally a tactile bunch, but some component of their bond intensified that need. He suspected it was the same for Anna even if she wasn’t ready to admit that yet. To satisfy their need, he’d make sure to keep things playful and platonic for now.
A subtle shift of muscles along her spine and hips warned him a moment before she banked, gliding around a tree in her path. He followed instinctively and then closed the gap between them, so they were in perfect alignment, their wings rising and falling together.
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